Fine Cuisine
by Rabid RENThead
Summary: Disaster strikes, but with a silver lining. Angel, Collins, Mark, Roger, Joanne, and Maureen open a restaurant. AU, of course. T in case for later chapters.
1. Disaster Strikes!

Disclaimer: We don't own RENT!

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Miranda's AN: Hello, and welcome to Fine Cuisine! I'm Miranda, whose account this is being written on, and this -points- is Katy, who is my amazingly awesome co-author 

Katy's AN: Hi I'm Katy (QuixoticLover) and I'm the amazingly awesome co-author!

Miranda's AN: Anyway, so yeah, the title may not make sense YET, but it will all fall into place, and most likely change : P Oh, and it takes place in the present, not in the '90s :3 Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Disaster Strikes

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"Speeeaaaak!"

"Mark? Roger? It's Joanne." Joanne sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. Mark rushed to the phone, Roger following right behind.

"Joanne? What's going on?"

"It's Benny. He's in the hospital. The one on 10th Street. He... we'll tell you when you get there. Call Angel and Collins, okay?"

"Okay, we're on our way."

"Is he dead yet?"

"Shut UP, Rog!"

"I meant it in a worried way!"

"Joanne, we'll be there in a few minutes."

Mark hurriedly dialed the number for the apartment where Angel and Collins lived. It rang a few times, and then a groggy voice answered.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Collins- it's Mark. Joanne just called. Benny's in the hospital. We need to get there as soon as possible."

"Oh, that's horrible. Is he okay?"

"We don't really know yet..."

"Okay, well Ang and I'll come over to the loft in a few minutes."

"Thanks. See ya."

* * *

After he hung up, Collins hurried over to the bed, sitting down next to Angel, who was curled up in a ball, chin-deep in the bedsheets. He poked her repeatedly. 

"Angel, wake up! Benny's in the hospital, we have to go!"

"Mrrr... good riddance..." Angel turned over, pulling the sheets up over her ears.

"You don't mean that, and you know it. Get up or I'll have to pull you out of bed!"

"Mrehhhhhhhhh..." Collins yanked the sheets off , tossing them to the floor. Once Angel sat up to protest, he grabbed her arms and gave a firm tug, pulling her to the side of the bed.

"Now, get up and get some clothes on." Angel shuffled blindly to her little vanity table. "And hurry, no wigs or make-up, just something easy to put on."

"First you..." she yawned "Get me up, and now..." Another yawn "You make me look like shit..."

"Just **hurry!**"

In a few minutes, they were both ready to go. They walked to the loft and ran up the stairs. Angel banged on the door and Mark opened it, scarf in hand. Roger was right behind him, and both were ready to leave. The group walked in silence to the hospital and found a very stressed-out Joanne waiting for them.

"Oh, thank goodness you guys are here."

"What happened to him?" Mark asked quickly.

"He got hit by a bus... Somewhere nearby. Allison is already here- she's upstairs with Maureen. I don't know if that was a really good idea... but we should get up there soon anyway. They aren't sure how much longer he's going to..." Joanne sniffled and started crying. She didn't know Benny very well, but well enough to cry over him.

"It's okay, honey. Let's go." Angel said, pulling her into a hug.

Joanne stepped back after a moment. "Room 309," she said softly. They slowly made their way up the stairs and down the hallway until they found Benny's room.

Benny looked horrible, covered in bandages and hooked up to a life-support system. He had his eyes closed at first, but when he heard Collins and Maureen greeting each other, he looked around to see his ex-friends standing around his bed. "Hi..." he whispered, twitching his hand in what he wanted to be a wave.

Mark was the first to go over to Benny, leaning down to give him as much of a hug as he could around all the wires and bandages.

"So... how's life?" Benny said weakly, then coughed out a chuckle.

"Benny... what happened?"

"I... I don't know. Just... blam." he smiled weakly, but went into another coughing fit.

"Benny, I... I'm sorry, man..." Roger whispered. "We... we could'a been a lot nicer to you."

"That's okay..." Benny answered. "I was..." he coughed and wheezed for a moment. "I wasn't very nice either."

Now it was Collins' turn to go over to the side of the bed.

"Benny... it's hard to see you like this. In college, after college... you were always the strong one, the survivor."

"Collins, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I left you guys... a lot of money. Half of the money and property went to Alison and the family... and the other half goes to my real family, to you guys. Do something with it."

"Benny, we can't take that," Collins replied. "We don't deserve it, after how bad we treated you."

"Always humble... take it, it's yours. It's in my will, been there for a long time. Even when you treated me like shit... I left you guys in there. Do something with it, like opening that restaurant you wanted."

"Benny, I..."

The lines on the monitor began to get irregular as Benny's breathing faltered.

"Bye..." he whispered, and he was gone.


	2. Lightbulb!

Disclaimer: We don't own Rent!

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Miranda: Hi again, everyone :) I know all of you were sad that Benny died, and we're sad too (we're not really Benny-haters), but it's going to get happy and interesting :D And funny n' stuff. So keep reading, this isn't angst! 

Katy: I miss Benny. XD -cries for Benny- But we're going to move on and not be depressed! -smiles- Whee!

Benny: I'm still mad at you guys -.-

Miranda: Well, deal with it!

Katy: Yah! Get over it, Mister Lamey-pants!

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Chapter 2: Lightbulb!

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Benny's expensive funeral went by without a problem or a loud crying fit, although all 6 of the "Bohemians" from "Benny's previous life" were exchanging tissues and holding each other comfortingly. Of course, the Greys and the Coffins stayed stony-faced, the women pretending to dab at the corners of their eyes with silk handkerchiefs. No one went up to speak, not even Benjamin Coffin II himself. After the funeral, a man who introduced himself as "Mr. Coffin's lawyer" approached Collins to talk about "the matter of the will." Just as he had said in the hospital, Benny had left the group of friends half of all his money, as well as ownership to the apartment building they lived in. It would be transferred into a bank account in Collins' name. 

They all went back to the loft soon after the talk with the lawyer, and Mark immediately got a case of beer from the kitchen. Collins took a bottle and stood, proposing a toast to Benny.

"To Benny. I can't believe he's really gone. I mean, sure we had some rough times and he was an ass sometimes... but he was our friend."

"Amen to that!" Mark said, taking a big gulp of his beer. "The guy was cool, even when he was bugging us for the rent."

"Or trying to get into Mimi's pants." Roger said, laughing.

"Or running off to marry some rich woman and her yappy dog." Angel added, giggling along with Roger. Everyone was soon laughing and remembering funny stories from back when Benny had lived in the loft with them.

* * *

"And then he went," Collins began an imitation of a very high Benny. "Man, Collernins, I love ya... if I like die or somethin' you're gettin' all mah money! Just like aardvarks..." 

"Guess he wasn't kidding..." Roger said quietly.

"Guess not," Collins replied sadly. "And I still don't get the aardvark thing... guess that really was the pot talking there." He paused for a second, staring into space. "God, what are we gonna do with all that? Benny wouldn't want us to blow it on a shopping spree... he always talked about how money is the gift that should keep on giving."

"Coooooolliiiiins!" Maureen whined, "If you put it in the bank, I won't be able to buy all those clothes I wanted!"

"And what about that adorable pair of shoes I saw?" Angel whined, wrapping her arms around him.

"I need hair-care products, Collins! Have you SEEN my split ends?" Roger shoved some of his hair into Collins' face. "Look, the split ends have their own split ends! SOMEONE thought film was more important than shampoo and conditioner! Now I'll need some serious hair therapy!"

"Fine, girls... and Roger... we'll spend SOME of it. Enough to be comfortable. The rest... we invest. Not in a bank, that's boring. But how...?"

They sat in silence and stared around the room, thinking of how they could invest their new small fortune. Joanne almost said something, but shook her head and stopped. Maureen looked over at Angel, who looked at Joanne, who looked at Collins.

"What about that restaurant you're always talking about, Col? That could work..."

"Yeah! We could open up a restaurant... Here! I don't want to move to Santa Fe, honey." Angel said, leaning against Collins. "Wouldn't that be fun? A little restaurant here in New York, and we could all work there..."

"That might actually work. Well, is everyone agreed?" Collins looked around at the rest of them, and everyone nodded enthusiastically. "Good! Then we open a restaurant!"


	3. This Space For Rent

Disclaimer: We don't own Rent or Denny's.

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Miranda: Hello, again! Katy's being a party-pooper and she's away somewhere, so I'm probably gonna write most of this chapter... We decided to give Joanne a bigger role than she normally gets in stories, because she is painfully ignored. What I find saddest is that I have as many Joanne icons as I do Benny icons! Poor Joanne :( 

Benny: Hey, what about me? You only have like 5 Benny icons!

Miranda: But no one likes you! Well, we like you, but you're an ass a lot of the time.

Katy: -zips into the room with a can of soda and some papers trailing behind her- Sorry I'm late! I agree. We love you Benny, even if you're an ass!

Benny: Hmmph! -cries-

Miranda: -hugs- Don't cry, Benny, we HAD to kill you! It was a plot device! How else would they get so much money?

Benny: Fine, I forgive you

Miranda: Yaaaaaay! Oh, and I felt like doing it first person because I'm better at that, so it's from Joanne's POV, 'kay?

Katy: -is in a caffeine/sugar coma- Okey dokey... OH I just remembered. We should tell you we should tell you... Mimi kinda doesn't exist. Sorry.

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A restaurant, all our own! That sounds fun! I nod when Collins asks if we agree, and a few seconds later, we've decided officially to open a restaurant. We begin to discuss how it's going to work. 

"So..." I say, "What kind of restaurant is it gonna be?"

"Umm..." Angel replies, "The food kind? I dunno!"

"It has to have something special, so that people will want to come eat here; it can't just be generic," I tell her.

"Well," Collins says, "Maybe we should think of a name first, then base it around it!"

"No, that's stupid!" Maureen answers. "You have to name the restaurant after you decide what it's like!"

We argue for a while, until Mark cuts in. "I know the name," he says loudly, and we settle down. "Benny's."

"Yeah!" Roger says. "Then maybe people will think we're Denny's!"

"I know," Maureen shouts, stepping up onto the table, "It can be a form of protest against Denny's and their cheaply-made food! We can be the anti-Denny's!"

"That's a great idea!" Angel says. "We can make it look like Denny's... but not! Like, total opposite but still recognizable!"

"You guys," I say, "They could sue us for copyright infringement!"

"Well, we got enough money," Roger replies, "To counter the sueingness and stuff!"

"'Sueingness and stuff?'" Mark chuckles. "Very eloquent, Rog..."

"I'M NOT AN ELEPHANT!" Roger yells. Mark pats his shoulder comfortingly.

"Relax Rog, I said 'eloquent' not 'elephant.'" He smiles as Roger calms down, then blushes as he realizes that his hand is still on Roger's shoulder. He removes it quickly, and everyone laughs.

"So will we still call it Benny's?" Maureen asks. Collins looks to me, as if asking my permission.

"I guess. We'll just have to make sure it isn't too much like Denny's."

So now we've settled on a name. I offer to look for a space for rent that we can use. Mark asks to come with me to help, but Roger insists that he's needed there at the loft to help them figure out the menu.

Yeah. Sure.

Anyway, I'm sure there's a space for rent in that new shopping complex down the street. Yeah, a shopping complex is a bit on the corporate side, but it'll be worth it. I walk down there to scout out a good empty location and spy a cozy-looking little building right next door to a wig shop - Angel will like that factor. I jog up to get a closer look, and - yes! It's for rent! The door is open, so I go in to look around. A man is sitting on a chair nearby reading a newspaper, and he greets me and tells me to go ahead and look around. It definitely looks like it was built to be a little cafe. I'm in a waiting area with some built-in benches and a podium cemented to the ground. I walk into a large seating area and see a counter made up of large glass cases that is probably meant to be a little bakery. There's a hallway with a couple cemented-down payphones, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, which is where I go next. It's nice and large, with plenty of room to cook. There are ovens built into the walls and a few sinks, with lots of empty space for counters. There appears to be plenty of room for the chefs to work. Satisfied, I head back out to the waiting area again, and ask the man how much the rent would be. It's a good price, too! Perfect. I pull out my cell phone and call the loft.

"Speeeeeeeeeeeeak."

"Mark, Roger, Mo, Collins- Someone answer the phone! I found a place!"

"Hey pookie! The boys and Angel are brainstorming for the menu." Maureen answers quickly. "That's great! Where is it?"

"The shopping complex down the street. I talked to the guy here and he said we can rent it. It's so perfect- already set up to be a restaurant! You guys all need to come check it out though. Tell the boys - and Angel - to stop 'brainstorming' and get them out here now."

"Boooooooooys! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangel! We need to goooooooooooooooooooooo!" I could have done without the screeching. "'Kay, we'll be right there, pookie!" She hangs up before I can say anything. I sit on one of the benches and wait.

In a couple minutes, they're here, and all marveling at how utterly perfect the place is. "Look, Tom," Angel says to Collins, "There's a place where we can have a bakery! I've always loved to bake, and I have a bunch of my abuela's recipes!"

Meanwhile, Maureen is using the host's podium to give an impassioned speech about the degradation of restaurant quality in the past years since Denny's opened. I walk up behind her and lean my chin on her shoulder. "Do you like it, honeybear?" I ask.

"Pookie, it's PERFECT!" she squeals and gives me a kiss. I'm glad she's happy, and it seems that everyone else is, too. I arrange the first payment with the man at the table, whose name, I find out, is Jon Carson, exchange cell phone numbers, and write him a check, which I rip out of the checkbook and give to him. He leaves, leaving us to figure out the rest.


	4. Planting a Secret Garden

Disclaimer: We don't own Rent!

* * *

Miranda: Hello again! We're on a roll tonight! 

Katy: -rushes in late again- Indeed!

Benny: Yeah, a roll of NOT HAVING ME ALIVE!

Miranda: Oh hush, we did name the restaurant after you, so stop whining!

Benny: Oh yeah? Well, what if I LIKE to whine?

Miranda: What are you, 9?

Benny: ... -.-

Katy: -hugs Benny so he won't be sad anymore- It's okay Ben-Ben!

Miranda: Anyway, this is Angel's POV :3 Oh, and this chapter has been done for a while, we just didn't remember ; So, we're sorry about not updating like ever. We're both going through periods of extreme writer's block...

* * *

We all go down to the new space and Joanne figures out the paperwork. It's a good thing we have her around- as a friend and as a lawyer. Without her know-how, we probably wouldn't even be able to open a lemonade stand by ourselves, and her mellow logic keeps us down-to-earth when we've gone partially insane. She's a lot more "real-world-oriented" than the rest of us, a bunch of grown-ups who don't want to grow up. But now we're doing something, something we've dreamed about, and it's gonna be amazing! 

Mark pulls out a notebook from his messenger bag, and Collins hands him a pen. We're going to do some planning for decorating now, I guess.

"It could use some paint." Maureen says. Mark nods and writes down 'paint' on the page. "And new curtains." He writes that down too.

"We need a color scheme, and a theme." I add. We certainly can't decide on the paint and curtains until we know the theme of the restaurant. "What do you think, honey?"

"How about an earth theme?" Collins suggests. Always the environmentalist... it's so cute. But an earth theme could be cool...

"We can have lots of plants and flowers and turn it into a secret garden!" I say.

"That's a great idea!" Mark says, and scrawls down "Secret garden," followed by "plants" and "flowers." I can barely read his handwriting. I guess smart people are like that, 'cause doctors' handwriting is always illegible.

"I know, I know!" Maureen yells. "We can have a WATERFALL!"

"Well, pookie," Joanne suggests, pulling her down from the table, "We could have a bunch of fountains, or maybe a mini waterfall..."

"It should be... beautifully elegant and mysterious," Roger says. He's good at descriptions... most of the time.

"Great," Mark says. "I think we've got our theme. Now, someone should go shopping."

"How about Roger, Maureen, and Angel?" Joanne replies. "It seems like they're the ones with the ideas." We all agree, and a minute later, we're walking down to the bigger shopping complex with the Home Depot and a florist and other shops we need to visit.

First we get the paint. After going through all the colors we can think of we settle on a very subtle sage green color, one that won't clash too much with anything. It'll only be a background, since we have decided to get ivy to cover the walls. We certainly have enough money to make it work. We find a bunch of flowers and plants, and even a mini waterfall- Maureen picked it because it "looked so realistic." We also order some darling little wrought-iron-and-glass tables and chairs to be delivered to the restaurant, enough to seat a lot of people without making it too crowded... we want an intimate, secret-garden feel.

Three and a half hours later we call a cab to transport everything we got. We kind of forgot that we would have to move all the stuff back to the restaurant when we were done shopping... But we get it all there and unload it with the help of Roger and Collins. They all love it; we knew they would. Joanne likes the calm feel, Collins likes the earthyness, and Mark likes the beauty of the plants. We had to confiscate his camera so he would actually help, rather than filming flowers.

We get right to work, pouring the paint into big rectangular pans and rolling the paint on with those cool spinny brushes that I've always wanted to use. I'm painting my section of the wall, right next to Collins, when I feel something wet and cold on my cheek. I jump and turn to see Collins with a fingerful of paint, giggling like a school girl. I smear some paint on his nose for payback, he runs his painty hand down my cheek, and soon we're in a full-on paint fight until Joanne yells at us to stop.

"Collins- paint is for walls, not Angels!" She scolds us and we go back to painting the wall, occasionally flicking drops of paint at each other. When we finish the walls and they're dry Roger starts working on the trellis and ivy. I'm working on the drapes with Maureen and Joanne, but I keep getting distracted by Roger's cursing.

"Dammit! This is fucked up!" He shouts as part of the wooden beam falls on top of him. More loud cursing ensues, but Mark rushes over to help him.

"It's okay, Rog. I'll help." I watch as Mark holds it up and Roger secures it to the wall. Mark applauds him and rewards him with a hug, and I notice the way they both fall into it, remaining in each other's grasp longer than they normally would. I giggle and go back to work on my curtains, which are coming along nicely.

Magical Timelapse

What feels like an eternity later, we're done! Except for the tables and chairs, which will arrive tomorrow. We covered the windows with beautiful green curtains (I picked out the fabric) that let in enough light to brighten the place, but the curtains make it feel like you're sitting under a canopy of trees. The place is literally covered in plants: Mark and Roger did a great job on the trellises, and we all pitched in to string ivy across them. We also strung ivy from hooks on the ceiling, and went out and bought an arbor to put at the door. The bakery display case has leaves and silk flower petals strewn around the shelves, and it's the same color as the walls. We left space for tables and chairs, and we put dangling ivy between the spaces to make it feel less crowded. In the middle of the room is the mini waterfall, which Maureen is very happy about. We ordered equipment for the kitchen, which should be delivered tomorrow along with the tables and chairs. Now we just need to figure out the menu. I've got a lot of my abuela's recipes, and some I got from Mimi too. Roger makes great soup (who would've thought the bad-ass rock-star was a great soup-chef?) and Mark is good at salads. Maureen has a few drink "recipes" still memorized from her bar-tending days, and Joanne checked out some cookbooks from the library. Collins... I don't know what he's good at. He's not the baking type. He does sometimes say he has an affinity for whipped cream and caramel, though, but I... won't go into that subject. We're going on a food-buying spree now, after which we'll meet at the loft to test recipes. I'm so excited! A dream come true...

Another Magical Timelapse

Back at the loft, we get everything ready to test out some recipes. This could be difficult, considering all they have is that hotplate Mark's mom sent him for Christmas one year... But I suppose we'll manage it somehow! We just need to make sure we have some edible stuff to put on the menu.

"Okay, I turned on the hotplate. How about we test... Roger's soup first?" Maureen suggests. Roger nods and starts getting things ready, asking for a volunteer to help him cut some vegetables. Mark quickly takes the task, before anyone else has a chance to. Collins suggests that we let them handle it and go sit down for a while.

"Well, today's been a busy day." Joanne says quietly as she flops down on the couch. "I can't believe we're actually opening a restaurant."

"I know! It's so exciting!" I add, sitting in Collins' lap at the other end of the couch. "And it's all thanks to Benny."

"Yeah..." Maureen sits on the floor in front of us, playing with the hem of her jacket. We talk quietly for a few minutes, ignoring the two wanna-be chefs in the nearby kitchen. There's a lull in the conversation, and I suddenly smell smoke.

"Roger? Something burning in there?" I call out. We all look towards the kitchen and see smoke billowing out. Collins runs, grabs the fire extinguisher from its handy spot by the counter, and puts out the small fire on the hotplate. I laugh. "How do you burn SOUP?" I manage to giggle out. Roger glares at me.

"Sorry! Geez, I just got distracted. I swear, I've never burned the soup before." He motions towards the hotplate. "Besides, that thing is a menace to all things food-like. I swear, it does this just to make me angry."

"Rog, it's okay. I shouldn't have been distracting you. My fault, totally." Mark blushes, picking up a half-cut carrot. "Um... do we want to try this again? Someone else can cut the vegetables."

"How about we go to my place?" Joanne suggests. "I actually have an oven and not a cheap hotplate."

"Why didn't we think of that earlier, pookie?" Maureen screeches loudly. "That's a GREAT idea! You're such a genius, pookieee!" I think Collins gave her some of his "special" beer again.

Mark and Roger nod in agreement, and we all head out onto the street and towards Maureen and Joanne's apartment.


End file.
